The Indian business world lost a visionary leader and a true gem, Shashi Ruia, on November 25, 2024, at the age of 81. Co-founder of the Essar Group and a prominent Indian billionaire, Shashi Ruia, was an entrepreneurial leader who transformed a small construction company into a vast conglomerate. Not only did he build a thriving global enterprise, but he also left behind a lasting legacy that continues to inspire future generations of entrepreneurs.
India’s honourable Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in a heartfelt tribute, said that Shri Shashi Ruia Ji was a colossal figure in the industry. His visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to excellence transformed the business landscape of India.
This statement is true in the context of Shashi Ruia, whose visionary approach and business acumen were instrumental in making Essar a globally recognized name. His leadership stood out for its commitment to innovation, adherence to ethical practices, and forward-thinking approach to sustainability.
Ruia was one of the country’s pioneering industrialists whose vision and drive helped shape India’s industrial landscape.
Born in December 1943, Shashi Ruia Essar hailed from a modest family. Since childhood, Ruia showed a keen interest in business and commerce, and his family was known for its entrepreneurial spirit. From a young age, Ruia believed India could progress by developing a strong core economy and infrastructure sectors. Ruia dedicated his life to creating world-class assets across diversified sectors, with the spirit of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat,’ long before these ideas gained national prominence. Ruia had a specific vision, and he overcame several challenges to achieve it.
By creating assets that made India self-reliant in manufacturing, Shashi Ruia helped local talent develop skills once perceived as only available overseas. He made investments worth more than $20 billion to create world-class assets in India and enabled massive employment by offering direct, contract, and indirect jobs.
Ruia envisioned leveraging India’s potential in the global economy and its sustainability innovations to shape a better future. He established Essar in 1969,along with his brother, Ravi Ruia, with the company’s first project being the construction of an outer breakwater at Chennai Port. This project marked the beginning of a remarkable journey that saw Ruias play a key role in building India’s capabilities across diversified sectors. The Essar Group, soon expanded its global footprint with operations in several sectors, including steel, energy, refining, oil and gas, projects, ports, telecom, technology solutions, etc.
By the late 90s and early 2000s, the group was well-diversified laying the groundwork for its global reach in the following years. It expanded its footprint into UK with the acquisition of the Shell refinery and turning it around. The Group also ventured into USA, Middle-east, Africa, Indonesia and even Vietnam. Through its tech ventures, Essar today has presence in over 35 countries.
Despite challenges in the last decade, Essar has continued its presence in core sectors, as well as in its international operations, showcasing immense resilience under the guidance of Shashi Ruia.
One of Ruia’s most notable achievements was his contribution to India’s steel industry. He recognized the surging demand for high-quality steel to support India’s expanding economy and thus established one of the country’s largest integrated steel complexes with a production capacity of 10 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) at
Hazira, Gujarat. This project aligned with India’s vision of becoming Atmanirbhar (self-reliant) in steel production, contributing to its current ability to produce almost 98% of its steel domestically.
Under Shashi Ruia’s guidance, Essar Steel pioneered forward and backward integrations, covering the entire value chain from iron ore fines to ready-to-use products. The company also introduced specialized steel grades for defence and other critical sectors, driving India towards a robust economy with reduced dependence on steel imports.
Shashi Ruia was the first person who saw the strategic value of Jamnagar, Gujarat, for building India’s refining capacities. He built the company’s Vadinar refinery, again integrating it upstream and downstream to build a world-class asset. The complex boasted of very high complexity, and a capacity pf 20 MTPA, and was later monetised at an opportune time to a consortium led by Rosneft for $12.9 billion, which was one of India’s highest FDI in the sector at that time. Such as the scale of Ruia’s vision, and the strength of his ability to achieve it and make a positive difference for the Nation.
Ruia’s influence extended beyond Essar; he held notable positions in national and international organisations, including the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Indian National Ship-owners Association, and the Indo-US Joint Business Council. As a prominent Indo-US CEO Forum and India-Japan Business Council member, he fostered deeper trade and investment partnerships.
Shashi Ruia always believed in the value of family unity, a principle deeply embedded in the Ruia household.
The second generations, including Ravi Ruia’s children, Rewant and Smiti, and Shashi’s sons, Prashant and Anshuman, continue to follow the legacy and work together across global locations. Together, they are committed to carrying forward the values, visions, and entrepreneurial spirits that define Shashi Ruia’s legacy.
Beyond his business acumen, Shashi Ruia was also recognized for his integrity, ethical leadership, and commitment to sustainability, making him an iconic figure. He was a quintessential people person, and his easygoing conversation with its employees made him a much-loved personality.
His contribution to shaping society, especially in the areas of women’s empowerment, education, and healthcare, continues to benefit millions of people. These efforts impacted over 500,000 lives annually across ~500 villages.
Shashi Ruia’s commitment to the ‘Make in India’ philosophy strengthened the nation and inspired a new generation of entrepreneurs to dream big and build even more significantly.
Under his leadership, Essar today stands as a $15 billion corporate, well-positioned for future opportunities.The group recently shifted its focus toward sustainability and net zero targets, announcing multi-billion dollar global scale ventures in low-carbon hydrogen, refinery decarbonisation, carbon capture, green mobility through LNG powered trucks, green steel, etc. It is rebalancing its portfolio with future-ready businesses, transforming exiting assets to green while investing in building sector-transforming clean businesses.
The world will never forget Shashi Ruia Essar for his humility and philanthropy. His leadership style and philosophy laid the groundwork for India’s transformation into a global industrial powerhouse through his steel, refining, power, and beyond ventures.
Despite his demise, his legacy as a leader will continue and inspire generations to come.
(This article is part of DMCL Consumer Connect Initiative, a paid publication programme. DMCL claims no editorial involvement and assumes no responsibility, liability or claims for any errors or omissions in the content of the article. The DMCL Editorial team is not responsible for this content.)
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